Hello again! I'm happy, because I feel like this was the perfect time to add another guy into the mix!
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos.
The IS Academy is in uproar, for a third male IS Pilot has surfaced!
Ichika and Thomas meet Elias Dansforth, the heir to the Dansforth Company and a Representative Candidate for England!
Elias is just the pretty-boy that easily catches the eyes of the student body, quickly gaining a following faster than Thomas and Ichika! With the three of them now in the same place, the Academy Students are ecstatic that their boy group grows ever more!
However, Elias is quite shy around girls, and Thomas attempts to get to the bottom of it. And Thomas quickly discovers Elias is hiding a dark secret behind his past...as well as Cecelia's!
The boys quickly discover that Elias has the hots for none other than Cecelia Alcott!
But how will Elias react when he discovers Cecelia is in love with Ichika?
Thomas and Ichika knew something was happening as they went to class that morning.
The girls were a lot more hyperactive than usual. On top of that, the mobs of fangirls weren't chasing them around at all. Sure, Ichika thought it was a much-needed and welcome change of pace, but Thomas was unsettled.
"Aw, what?" Teased Ichika, "You actually liked having all those girls chasing after you?"
"No..." Explained Thomas, "I just think its weird they're not trying to maul us all of the sudden."
Suddenly Honne jumped right in front of the boys, her face lit up with joy.
"This is so wonderful!" She cheered, "We have a third boy! There's a third boy attending the IS Academy!"
Thomas and Ichika looked at each other.
The two then raced off in search of this alleged third boy.
After a lot of searching, they were frustrated with their search being fruitless.
"This is impossible!" Snapped Ichika, "The Academy campus is too big! How're we sposta find this guy?!"
Thomas got an idea.
"Simple," He said, "We follow the mob."
Ichika quickly caught on.
The boys jogged around, looking for any massive group of girls, rather than this new boy. Almost immediately, their efforts proved fruitful. Sure enough, there was a massive horde of girls amassing nearby the arena locker room.
After doing their best to push their way through the crowd, they saw him.
He was blonde, with short hair in a fowhawk style. He had pale skin, and was no doubt a Western Caucasian. Thomas noted that his appearance was a bit lanky. The aura around him was that of elegance, his appearance alone implied he came from a wealthy family.
Currently, the boy had a nervous look on his face.
Perhaps he was shy.
The girls, seeing Ichika and Thomas, pulled back to make space for the three of them.
The boy looked around, only to have his eyes fall upon the two boys standing before him.
"Aha! Found you at last!" Said the boy, his nervous face turning jovial.
He had an English Accent. Cecelia would get along swimmingly.
The boys all relaxed, despite the girls around them ready to pounce.
"Hi!" Greeted Ichika, "I'm Ichika Orimura, great to see you!"
"I'm Thomas Scott," Thomas introduced, "And you are?"
"Oh, excuse me," Chuckled the boy, "I am Elias Dansforth, pleasure to make your acquaintances!"
The three each shook hands with each other, and the crowds around them went into an uproar. The newspaper club quickly organized an impromptu photo-shoot of the event as it unfolded. Elias seemed more than happy to take the shoot in private.
Chifuyu quickly dispersed the crowd, as it was almost time for class.
Homeroom passed by quickly that day.
The students were all in the arena, dressed in pilot uniforms, counting down the moments until they got to see their newest boy in action. Currently, Elias's uniform was a pure white color, with a crimson trim.
Chifuyu walked onto the field in her tracksuit.
The girls were about ready to burst.
"Orimura! Scott!" Called Chifuyu, "Today, you'll team-up in a quick match against Miss Yamada!"
The girls all groaned with utter disappointment.
""DID I STUTTER?!" Snarled Chifuyu, quickly getting the girls back into proper composure.
Miss Yamada stepped out with her own Rafale-Revive.
"Well," She said, "It's not like Scott's, but I wanna see who's the better Revive Pilot between us!"
Ichika and Thomas steeled their nerves as they deployed their Units, and took up positions.
"Oh, and Miss Yamada?" Called Chifuyu, "Try not to completely annihilate them, okay?"
"Roger!"
Ichika and Thomas breathed.
Miss Yamada was an Ex-Representative, she was most likely still in her prime as well. Ichika had also told Thomas about how she easily crushed Lingyin and Cecelia earlier in the school year.
Ichika was nervous. Sure, he and Thomas had practiced tag-team moves, but they never actually used them in a fight before!
Thomas grinned.
"'Bout time I got to fight a professional!" He said confidently.
Miss Yamada made a sinister grin.
"Here I come!" She called.
The battle began.
Miss Yamada quickly went on the attack, firing a barrage of missiles at the boys.
Thomas anticipated the attack. However, he also knew she wasn't trying to blitz them outright. If that were the case, she'd have gone with the Grenade Launcher. No, she was trying to distract them.
Thomas flew forward, flying directly at Miss Yamada.
"Tommy!" Cried Ichika, "Watch out!"
The missiles were mere feet away from Thomas, was he really planning to tank the attack?!
Suddenly, Thomas dropped at his knees and leaned back, performing a power slide to safely move past the missiles! The missiles were locked onto Thomas, but too slow to match Thomas's sudden movements. They hit the ground behind Thomas as he swiftly moved back onto his feet.
Miss Yamada was stunned, but ready for Thomas.
She deployed her Grenade Launcher, and opened fire.
Thomas skillfully swayed out of harm's way as he skated across the ground. Thomas quickly closed the distance between them. He deployed his Shield Pierce, and drew back for a hook.
However, Miss Yamada was waiting for that moment.
She lashed out with a left jab, deploying her own Shield Pierce. The blow went right into Thomas's solar plexus, and sent him flying back. Ichika opened fire with his Charged Particle Cannon, attempting to hit from long range.
Miss Yamada retaliated with her own Sniper Rifle, easily shooting the Byakushki's foot, and causing Ichika to crash into the ground.
The boys quickly pulled back, and realigned themselves side-by-side.
Chifuyu smirked.
The girls were getting nervous, this would reflect very poorly on the boys if they embarrassed themselves in front of Elias right out of the gate! If they failed here, Elias would never take them seriously!
Thomas and Ichika grinned.
"You sure about this?" Asked Ichika.
"Well, we boys gotta win with style, don't we?"
Ichika and Thomas once more took to the air.
Thomas flew slower than Ichika for some reason. Miss Yamada could tell they had something planned.
But what?
Ichika flew relatively overhead Miss Yamada, who deployed her Sniper Rifle, and took aim.
The boy suddenly paused, stopping mid-flight.
"Tag-Team Attack!" He declared.
Thomas suddenly flew in front of Ichika.
Ichika jumped back, curling into a ball.
Thomas rolled forward, doing the same.
Suddenly, their legs shot out, connecting with the bottoms of their feet.
"Two-Stage Rocket!" They shouted in unison.
Suddenly, Thomas launched right for Miss Yamada with incalculable speed!
Elias had an awestruck look on his face.
He moved too quickly for Miss Yamada to process. Miss Yamada was unable to do anything to counter, and wound up being tackled hard by Thomas as he smashed right into her, grabbing her in a bear hug.
With Miss Yamada disabled, Thomas kept her stunned as Ichika got into position. Ichika deployed his Energy Claw, and Thomas deployed both of his Shield Pierces. The boys then proceeded to beat Miss Yamada down.
They timed their attack perfectly, striking simultaneously to further increase the impacts and damage of their attacks.
The Instructor was simply overwhelmed!
Each time she tried to counter, Thomas and Ichika evaded and quickly returned to pummeling her senseless! She only had one chance to escape before the boys completely pulverized her!
She quickly fired her Revive's missiles at point-blank range!
With the boys distracted by them, she quickly turned the tide!
She then began to mercilessly tear into the boys when they were distracted.
Ichika pulled back, and readied for an all-out attack with the Yukihira Nagata...
...Only to find he'd already run out of power.
Miss Yamada turned away from Ichika, and began to restrain Thomas. She then fired her Grenade Launcher at him, despite her attention being on Thomas. Ichika was unable to escape, and was defeated in mere couple of shots.
The Byakushki recalled, confirming Ichika was down and out.
Thomas, on the other hand, was barely holding on.
Now that Ichika was out, Miss Yamada could turn her full attention on him.
However, Thomas still had tricks up his sleeve.
Miss Yamada brought out her Shield Pierce, raising her arm to unleash a one-handed beat-down.
"Sorry, Scott." She apologized, "But once I get going, I just can't stop!"
"Funny," He sneered with unsettling confidence, "Neither can I!"
Suddenly, Thomas opened the Missile Rack on his thigh, and pulled out a missile. He thrust the object hard, and jammed the warhead into a gap of the Revive's armor-plating.
And then, the missile began to chirp.
Miss Yamada frantically let go of Thomas, and began a very vain attempt to remove the missile. Thomas must've set the warhead on a timer! Miss Yamada reached for the missile, but Thomas had wedged it in a spot under her arm that the Revive was too big to reach!
"Shit!" She hissed under her breath.
She looked back to Thomas, only to see that Thomas had deployed his hip-mounted Charged-Particle Cannon.
It didn't take a genius to know what he was thinking.
Thomas accurately struck the missile with a bolt from his Cannon, and blew Miss Yamada away. The Instructor fell to a dazed heap in front of the students, and Thomas stood back up, pausing to take in his victory.
The class went into yet another uproar at Thomas's clever coup de grace.
"Alright!" Snapped Chifuyu, "Now, Dansforth! You're going to face-off against Dunois! Deploy your Units and get to it!"
"Y-Yes!" Stuttered Elias, quickly running to switch places with the boys.
Charlotte deployed her Revive, and brought out her PDWs.
Elias deployed his Unit, and finally answered the unsaid question the student body had.
His Unit was reminiscent in shape of Blue Tears, albeit a completely different color scheme. It was snow white, with crimson red accents. His right arm carried what looked to be a Beam Rifle tailored specifically to the IS's arm, much like that of Silent Zephyrs.
"I...I'm not going to hold back!" He declared.
"Good!" Said Chifuyu, "You're not supposed to!"
Thomas could see that Elias was trembling in his Unit.
This was going to be over quickly.
"Start!"
Charlotte wasted no time, skating right for Elias with her PDWs blazing.
Elias clumsily pulled out of the way in a nick of time...
...Only to wind up being in the path of Charlotte's Pile Bunker flying right for his head.
The students all winced as they watched Elias go long like a football.
Elias almost completely buckled as he tried getting back up.
He then pulled his Rifle back up, and took aim. He tried to open fire, only to miss every single shot. Charlotte simply retaliated with her Sniper Rifle, quickly shoot Elias off his feet yet again.
The students could tell this fight was already lost.
Elias's performance was pitiful compared to that of Thomas and Ichika.
His stance was way off, he was shaking way too much, he wasn't even aiming, he didn't even try to move.
Thomas looked around to see the students' reactions.
He then noticed Cecelia.
Whereas everyone else had pained, disappointed looks on their faces, Cecelia stared as though she was reliving a bad memory.
Thomas turned back to the fight, only to find that Charlotte quit using her guns, in favor of close-quarters.
She'd brought out her Combat Knife, and Elias yelped in panic.
After Charlotte prodded Elias profusely, she switched back to her Pile Bunkers, and began to beat Elias senseless. Elias covered his head with his arms, making a cheap imitation of a boxing block.
With a single combo attack, Charlotte quickly finished him off.
Elias fell to the ground, and put out his trembling hands to surrender. Charlotte stopped, absolutely dumbstruck by Elias's sudden fit of fear. Elias's eyes were filled with terror, as though Charlotte was giving him a nightmare.
"I give, I give!" He pleaded, "Just...Please, I'll behave."
Everyone was taken aback. Was the newest boy a weakling?
"Well, he surrendered, Dunois is the victor!" Declared Chifuyu.
She then noticed something about Elias.
"Dansforth." Said Chifuyu, "You're shaking. Go to the Infirmary."
Elias was shivering and trembling as he left the field to go to the Infirmary. He left the field without saying a word to anyone, and had a fear-stricken look on his face. He was hyperventilating, a sign of a serious problem.
Thomas, Ichika, and Chifuyu all left the class that day knowing something was very wrong with Elias.
Thomas caught up with Elias at dinnertime.
"You're looking better." He greeted.
"Ah! Good Thomas!" Said Elias, as though nothing had happened, "Well, I must ask that one could forgive my...erratic behavior."
"Well, you can tell me all about it."
"I'd..." Elias's joyous act turned suspiciously depressed, "I'd...Much rather not. It's not something I would want to bring up. Ever."
"I see...Well, I won't pry all too much."
"A thousand graces. Now, do tell me about...Anything, really. I'd be most gracious to know about you and Orimura. See, I'd love for the three of us to create a long-standing friendship."
"Says you, of all people." Teased Thomas, "Well, Ichika and I were actually old friends since elementary. And the Instructor you met is actually his older sister-but you didn't hear that from me."
"Really? I thought she was more of his mother."
Thomas almost bust his gut in laughter.
"His parents abandoned the two of them at birth, she practically raised him herself from what I can tell."
"And what of you? You're old friends, you said."
"Mhm. My mom and Miss Orimura were friends. At least, that's what I was told..."
"What do you mean?"
"Y'see...My mom vanished after I was born. I never really had many friends, and my dad was too busy to properly raise me on his own. So, Miss Orimura became a big sister figure to help compensate."
"Really?!"
"That's about the size of it." Thomas suddenly glanced away, "Say..."
"Hm?"
"You wouldn't happen to know Cecelia Alcott, would you?"
"Of course I do!" Snapped Elias, "Lady Cecelia once attended the same academy as me. Even then, her beauty was everlasting! She was the pride and joy of the academy until she left to deal with far more important matters!"
Thomas secretly glanced away again.
He'd noticed Cecelia was sitting within earshot, and wanted to test a theory.
Currently, Cecelia was glaring daggers at the boys with her cheeks flushed red.
Elias was so buried in his rant he didn't notice.
Good.
"If I didn't know any better..." Accused Thomas, "I'd say that you have a schoolgirl crush on Cecelia."
"Of course I do! What man worth his salt wouldn't be enthralled by such a lovely lady?! If you don't worship her beauty, then clearly such a woman is beyond your league, you pitiful commoner!"
"That's quite enough of that!" Snarled Cecelia, whipping around angrily, "I can't believe this! Just what are you doing here, Dansforth?!"
"Cecelia, my love?!"
"Certainly not yours! I'd much rather be betrothed to the likes of Thomas before a spineless boy like you! Get it through your head that whatever romance you think we have, is nonexistent! We'd only ever been in proximity once! And ever since then, you won't stop wasting time with pointless declarations of some false promise you call love! Admit it! You were only attracted to me because I came from a more wealthy family!"
"But milady-!"
"Don't 'milady' me! You're a frail child! I pitied you once, but now I just get too annoyed to care!"
Cecelia stomped off, fuming.
Thomas took in everything.
"I think I'm starting to get it now..."
"Get what?!" Snapped Elias.
"Come with me." Said Thomas, standing up to leave, "You've made a scene already, no need for an encore."
Thomas told Elias everything.
He told him about his own experiences with Cecelia.
He made sure to tell him about Cecelia's affections for Ichika.
But Elias's reaction was not what Thomas expected.
Thomas expected Elias to throw a fit. If cheesy romance movies had any bit of realism, Thomas expected Elias to go as far as challenging Ichika to a duel for Cecelia's love interest. He even expected Elias would lose it, and pull a stunt that would get himself expelled.
However, Elias didn't do any of that.
After Thomas had finished, and paused for Elias's reaction, Elias simply stood there.
His face was somber, and he began to cry silently.
"Wow." Said Thomas, "Didn't see that coming."
"I...I'm sorry." Blubbered Elias, "It's unbecoming of me. Real men don't cry..."
He then got emotionally violent.
"Dammit!" He cried, his volume increasing, "I should've foreseen this! Lady Cecelia was right! I really am a pitiful, spineless, cowardly, childish, annoying brat who's in love with her money..."
Elias began to cry and curl into a ball.
"I'll never be like you!"
Thomas flinched.
"What?"
"I look up to you, dammit!" Elias confessed, "You and Ichika are able to stand on your own so greatly! You could take any lady in this Academy with your status! Imagine that! A nobleman-no, not even a man-a noble boy looking up to a commoner, simply because he's like that of a champion!"
Thomas suddenly picked Elias off the ground, and set him back on his feet.
"Listen, buddy." Said Thomas, "What makes you say that you can't?"
"I'm too weak!"
"Wrong."
Elias's whimpering began to cease a little, the boy opened his eyes to look at Thomas.
"What?"
"That's what you say, but that's not the answer."
"What d'you mean?!"
"Being weak just means you have more chances to prove that you're strong."
Elias's crying had stopped.
"So," Said Thomas, "I'm going to teach you."
"Really?!"
"You don't get to choose."
"Why?"
"We're a rare breed, IS guys." Said Thomas, "Besides, I might be able to help with your lady troubles."
"How?!"
"So many questions...Right. Anyway, Cecelia's into tough, independent dudes. So, simply put, we gotta make you tougher."
"Teach me!"
"Just don't cry about it when you realize how tough it's gonna be."
"I won't!"
Elias would soon come to realize why Thomas would demand such resilience.
Day 1.
Elias fell right on his right.
"I see now..." Said Thomas, "This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought."
"I'm not done yet!" Elias said, getting to his feet.
"Where was this resolve when you fought Charlotte?!" Said Thomas, "If you actually stood you ground, you might've stood a chance!"
"As a gentleman, I could never hit a woman."
"Then you came to the wrong school!"
Thomas had begun drilling Elias with brutal IS Matches during their own time. Thomas easily noticed that Elias had absolutely no experience in an IS, just like himself when he started out.
However, the difference was that Thomas was a lot more adept at figuring out how to pilot an IS.
Elias's performance was piss-poor, at best.
Thomas wasn't even trying at all, and he was still giving Elias a thrashing.
However, Elias had a confidence about him that wasn't present during his fight with Charlotte.
In the days that came and went, Thomas could see very clearly Elias had a strange shyness around girls. Whenever girls came up to him, he always had a blushing, nervous look on his face. Whenever girls tried to guide him to places, he usually began to panic as though he'd done something wrong.
And whenever Cecelia laid eyes upon him, she'd immediately turn away, and a guilty look on her face would remain as she quickly left.
Something happened between the two of them, and Thomas wanted to know what.
Thomas was begin smart. Not only was he training Elias, but with every jib and barb, he began to draw out more and more of Elias's history. Elias may not have figured it out, but Thomas was insulting him in such a way that was subtly getting him to talk about himself.
But he needed more time.
Day 2.
"Hey boys~!" Greeted Tatenashi.
"Greetings, Ma'am!" Cracked Elias.
"Aw~! Don't be so formal!" Assured Tatenashi, "My my, Thomas, you're taking on a protege?"
"Considering how quickly he submitted against Charlotte, I felt it was best."
"Good on you! How's that going?"
"Early days, and he really sucks, but I'm doing my best."
Tatenashi quickly began to assist Thomas, having Elias do drills, PT, and lots more drills.
Elias was quickly overwhelmed and worn out.
Thomas looked up to the bleachers of the arena.
Cecelia was simply staring at Elias as he worked. She had a somber look on her face, and appeared to be spacing out. Thomas could tell that she was remembering something, presumably about her implied history with Elias.
Elias wouldn't say anything other than glorifying Cecelia.
As much as Thomas hated to...
...He needed to get the answers he needed from Cecelia.
That night.
Cecelia somberly walked back to her dorm room.
"What was Elias thinking?" She asked herself, "Why would he go to place the would treat him worse than the academy?"
Cecelia walked into her dorm room, closed the door, and turned on the lights...
...Only to find Thomas sitting in the chair for the room's desk.
Cecelia yelped in surprise.
"Thomas?!" She cried, "Wha-?! How-?! How did you get in here?!"
"Through the balcony, of course."
Cecelia was dumbstruck.
"I need to talk to you." Said Thomas.
"What's going on?"
"It's about Elias."
Cecelia's shock had dissipated to disappointment.
"Please." She said politely, despite turning away in shame, "Leave, now."
"Not until I get answers."
"Get out!"
"Maybe you haven't noticed," Said Thomas getting out of the chair, "But I know something happened between you and Elias, and right now, I need to know what! He's not gonna last long unless I can find a way to help!"
Thomas's expression softened.
"And I can't help unless I know what's wrong."
Cecelia kept her back turned, weighing her options.
"Fine." She conceded, "I'll tell you."
"Good."
Cecelia and Thomas sat down in chairs, and Cecelia told him what she knew.
"Well," Admitted Cecelia, "You see, the problem isn't what's happened between me and Elias..."
Cecelia closed her eyes in shame.
"...But what didn't."
It didn't take long for Thomas to catch on.
"So," He presented, "From what I can tell, you two never had a thing to begin with, but he's still trying to fall in love with you."
"The only time I ever actually directly interacted with him was during a play."
"Do tell." Said Thomas, paying more attention.
"It was known as 'The Warrior Princess.'" Cecelia explained, "I was the main character in the play, the Warrior Princess. The story was about a princess who set out to rescue a meek prince who'd been abducted by an evil witch. Afterward, the princess and prince were said to have married and live happily ever after."
"I see...I take it Elias played the prince?"
"Indeed. And ever since then, he's tried to court me. But..."
"But?"
"He's just too meek! Sure, his act in the play was convincing, but in reality, he was far more submissive!"
"How so?"
"I...Can't say. I don't want to think about it."
Thomas processed the new information.
"I've wasted enough of your time." He apologized, "This has been insightful, thank a bullion."
Thomas got up to leave.
"Wait!" Said Cecelia.
"Hm?"
"Promise me."
"What?"
"Promise me you'll make Elias strong."
Thomas locked eyes with Cecelia.
"I'll do what I can."
Thomas left.
Cecelia wrapped her blanket around herself.
She began to turn inward, and reflect upon herself.
Day 3.
"Again!" Ordered Thomas.
"Ugh!" Whined Elias.
"Don't 'ugh,' me!"
Currently, Thomas was teaching Elias boxing combinations. So far, they'd practiced a three-box combo, and now Thomas was training Elias with four-box combos.
"I've done this drill a thousand times!"
"And you'll do it a thousand times more!"
"But why?! I have a gun, dammit! And I have a sword and shield, more guns, and Optical Drones! So why must I rely upon my fists?!"
"If you haven't noticed, you're pitiful with aiming. And until you learn to walk before you run, you'll do with your fists before your sword and shield!"
After a few minutes of Elias trying to hit the air, Thomas decided to actually test him.
"About time I get to actually hit something!" Said Elias.
"Alright then. Pud'em up!"
Elias and Thomas brought up their fists.
Elias quickly went on the attack.
Closing the distance between them, Elias unleashed a brutal onslaught upon Thomas with jabs and hooks.
However, Thomas was far faster.
Thomas moved to fast for Elias to do anything. After some time spent dodging, Thomas quickly laid Elias out with an overhand punch.
The boys called it quits, and went to the locker room.
"How did you do that?! I didn't even see you!"
"Practice."
"Oh..."
"Well, I worked hard to be where I am. Y'see, if your opponent's stronger, you gotta be quicker. And if they're quicker, you gotta be smarter."
"But what if they're all three?"
"Then you just gotta be better."
"Easy for you to say!"
"Not really."
"I just can't do what you do!"
Thomas stopped.
He turned to face Elias, and began to train him again.
"Alright then," He said, "pud'em up."
"What?"
"You heard me, pud'em up."
Elias hesitantly took up a boxing stance, and Thomas did the same.
"Okay," He said, "First thing; don't let the adrenaline rush go to your head."
Elias steadied his breathing.
"Now, keep your hips square to your opponent, and watch 'em."
Elias steeled his nerves.
Thomas threw a punch, and Elias swiftly dodged.
"That's the way!"
Elias smirked.
"Alright," Said Thomas, lingering with his punch, "Now that the opponent's off-balance, your counter."
"What?"
"Yeah. Just gimme one to the jaw or something. Let me have it."
Elias processed, and lashed out with a timid right.
The boys paused.
"Hey," Said Ichika, "Miss Orimura? Where are Thomas and Elias?"
"Hm? Last I saw them, they were going to the infirmary near the arena locker room. Scott and Dansforth were nursing Scott's jaw, if I saw correctly."
"Thanks Chifuyu-!"
Chifuyu brought a chop to Ichika's head.
"T-Thank you...Miss Orimura..."
"Better. And now you have an excuse to join them."
"Mhm..." Whimpered Ichika, leaving the room.
"I am so sorry!" Cried Elias.
"It's fine..." Mumbled Thomas, "I literally asked for it."
Elias had struck Thomas right behind the right side of his jaw, hitting a nerve in the process.
Currently, Thomas was nursing the area with an ice pack.
"Helluva right you got there."
"Yes...Thank you."
"Honestly, if you're tough enough to do that, then why couldn't you take on Charlotte?"
"I..." Elias said, his voice nearly dropping, "I'm a True Gentleman! I could never strike a woman!"
"Stop it."
"What?"
"Just...Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"When you said 'True Gentleman,' It sounded so obviously forced. I'm seriously tired of you trying to say something if you don't mean it."
"But..."
"No. I'm not finished talking." Interrupted Thomas, "I've talked with Cecelia, and she told me about the whole Warrior Princess thing."
"What?!"
"However," Continued Thomas, "She was going to say something else, but she didn't out of shame."
"What about?"
"About how meek you are."
"Oh..."
"I know I said I wouldn't pry...But you're scared."
"I'm not scared!" Elias snapped, a glare on his face.
"Really?" Retorted Thomas, "When you fought Charlotte, you were shaking in your giant robot boots! You were scared and you're lying to yourself if you keep saying that you weren't! There's something wrong, and I can't help you fix it if you don't tell me what's wrong!"
Elias's expression softened. He then took a seat next to Thomas, twiddling his thumbs, and looking away in shame.
"I...Admit it." He broke, "I was quite meek, and I still am."
Thomas said nothing.
He found it best to let people vent, and listen.
"Back when me and Cecelia attended the same academy, back in England," Explained Elias, "I was always frail and meek. Every day, I would wake up, go to classes, and...And in the halls, the girls of the academy would isolate me as their own plaything."
Elias stopped twiddling his thumbs.
"Each and every day of that accursed place...Female students would come up, and drag me away from wherever and whenever to do with me as they pleased. It was awful...They'd touch me in certain places and in certain ways, and I was too scared to do anything. They quickly made me understand that if I were to try and fight back in any way, they'd only get more violent and forceful."
Thomas could see that Elias was beginning to cry silently as he continued.
"I was too afraid to do anything. I was too scared to stand up for myself, or even just leave. They told me that no-one would believe me, or that no-one would care, or that they'd encourage it."
Elias made a deep breath.
"However, I did find hope."
He made a sad smile.
"I auditioned for The Warrior Princess. I ended up being the role of the Prince, waiting for the daring Princess to rescue him. It was when I first met Cecelia. I suppose that something clicked within me."
Elias made a chuckle.
"As the play went on, I felt so touched by Lady Cecelia's performance. Like before, a girl was coming to take me away. However, unlike ever before, or after, she wasn't going to abuse me. But rather, the lady who'd come for me had done so out of love."
Elias's smile brightened a little.
"I was enthralled. Sure, it was only a facade, but for some reason, I just couldn't help but feel as though it were real. And after, I wanted nothing more than that romance to be real. It was the first time, and I felt it to be the only time I needed."
Elias's face became depressed once again.
"However, Lady Cecelia didn't feel the same. I did what I could to reach out to her, proclaim my affections for her. But...Time and time again, I was miserably rejected. Eventually, as the play's hype settled, things continued as they were."
The boy bowed his head.
"Although I kept trying, Lady Cecelia continued rejecting. And, due to my success in starring in the Prince, the awful, lecherous girls of the academy paid more attention to me than ever before."
Elias went back to whimpering.
"Something was different with the girls, however. Whatever was holding them back before was simply...gone. They stepped up in their abuse, doing much more dangerous things. Not only were they sexually harassing me, but now they were doing far worse. They beat me, hurt me in ways I prayed I could never understand, despite the horrid truth that I did understand."
Elias's tears flowed even greater.
"Not too long after the play, however, Lady Cecelia's parents had passed. She had to leave the academy for the sake of her family's company and wealth. I suppose she did have feelings for me, for some unnatural reason, the day she left, she came to look for me. However, it was one of the times the other girls of the academy wanted to vent their urges and frustrations."
He nearly broke down completely.
"The girls had ushered me into a room. Cecelia must have been watching, because she'd followed. The girls had bound my wrists, and began to strip me of my clothes. They'd almost made me completely indecent when Cecelia had entered the room, and bore witness. The girls had emphasized how I was their boy-toy, and even offered Cecelia to join in with them."
Elias paused.
"She stood there, looking as though she'd been betrayed. She'd only paused for a short time, right before slamming the door and leaving me to the she-wolves without so much as glance backwards."
Elias made a choked sob, and continued.
"At the end of my final year in that school...It was the beginning of my high school year. At the time, my family company was under great financial struggle, and on the verge of collapse. Those...harpies somehow knew how horrible things were, and wanted to make it worse. I thought it wouldn't get worse than the beatings, and the touching. But, I...Was so wrong."
Elias began to cry, but pressed onward with his story.
"One day, they took me away, as usual. However, something seemed different. They took me to a room, stripped me, and yet, they didn't beat me, or touch me. At least, not right away. However, the girls began to group together, even bigger than before. They stood over me, and without warning..."
Elias cried louder.
"They...They...Did the deed."
Elias placed his face in his hands, and sobbed. Thomas, however, knew that Elias wasn't finished. Thomas placed his hand of Elias's shoulder. Elias took it as a sign of friendship.
Elias stopped crying, and finished his story.
"And after, I was able to come home during a holiday. My parents were too busy trying to save to company to pay attention to me. One night, I went to see the Is they were developing. I rested my hand upon it, and it moved. People were watching, and my parents saw an opportunity to save their company. Quickly, they switched me over to the IS Academy, and the rest is history."
Thomas remained silent.
Elias's entire shortcoming was due to misfortune. His inability to pilot an IS, his fear of fighting a girl, it all made sense now. Elias had been trained to believe he could never fight a girl.
And now that he knew what was wrong, he could fix the problem.
Ichika had been listening from behind the door, and quietly left.
"I apologize a thousand times for being so pitiful, real men don't cry."
"That's not true."
Elias looked at Thomas, his tears still flowing.
"What?"
"I don't know if you ever knew, but even real men cry when they need to."
Elias smiled.
Without warning, Elias hugged Thomas.
"I apologize again," He said, "That was unbecoming of me."
"Well," Said Thomas, "It's another one of those moments where you have to."
"...Thanks."
"Now we just gotta get rid of that fear of fighting girls."
"Really?!" Elated Elias, "How?!"
"My opinion? You fight Charlotte again."
"What?!" Cried Elias.
"We'll have you duel Charlotte in two weeks. That way, I have enough time to teach you everything I know."
Thomas looked Elias in the eye.
"So, how about it?"
Elias thought long and hard.
"I'll do it."
A/N: Done! I felt like taking a bit of a darker turn, I don't know why though.
Anyway, Elias Dansforth is now a character, so I'll give a quick description.
Elias Dansforth, British, 5'5, blonde fohawk, green eyes.
Elias's IS is the Knight Gunner, a third version of the Blue Tears. The Knight Gunner was meant to be an improvement on both Silent Zephyrs and Blue Tears. The Unit is armed with 10 Optical Drones, 4 Beam Cannons, A Charge Cannon with a Sniper and Automatic function, a Thermal Claymore and Barrier Shield with a Pile Bunker.
The Unit's design is mostly similar to the Earlecumber from Knight's and Magic. The Unit has a porcelain white color with crimson red accents.
I chose this design because I wanted to make it seem like that of a knight, since Elias wants to be chivalrous, but is currently too scared to do so. I don't know why, but I kept thinking of Jonathan Joestar while coming up with Elias's character.
But don't worry, he'll soon grow out of that fear.
Anyway, let me know what you think of this!
Next time: The Warrior Princess Part 2!
Thomas begins to train Elias harder than before! With only two weeks to prepare for a second round against Charlotte, Thomas must find a way to get Elias to have the courage to fight a girl.
Can they find a way? Or will Elias forever cower in his own fear?
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